SONOMA, Calif. (October 16, 2018) – MacArthur Place Hotel & Spa, today announced it has named award-winning Chef Cole Dickinson as executive chef at MacArthur Place, where he will oversee all food and beverage operations for Layla, The Bar at MacArthur, The Porch, weddings and social events, poolside dining, and the hotel’s in-room dining program. Set to debut in early 2019, the historic Sonoma hotel and spa will reveal a completely re-designed property including a fully reinvigorated food and beverage program.
“He’s a passionate, highly experienced and talented chef, and exactly the person we hoped to partner with to launch Layla and our food and beverage programming at MacArthur Place. He will play an integral role in establishing MacArthur Place as the newest and most energetic dining destination in Sonoma’s world class wine country—where guests can expect the very best food, wine and spirits the region has to offer,” said Lawrence Bain, chairman and CEO of IMH Financial, owners of MacArthur Place.
Chef Cole joins MacArthur Place from Acacia House at the Forbes 4-star Las Alcobas Resort in Napa Valley, which was recently named one of the Bay Area’s best 100 restaurants by the San Francisco Chronicle. He brings a vibrant culinary pedigree to Sonoma, having worked for years as a protégée of Chef Michael Voltaggio, first at Charlie Palmer’s Dry Creek Kitchen in Healdsburg, followed by Voltaggio’s Hemisphere at the Greenbrier in West Virginia and then at The Bazaar by José Andrés in Beverly Hills. He was named executive chef at the Voltaggio Brothers Steak House and helped to oversee the kitchen at Michael Voltaggio's wildly successful ink, named a GQ magazine “Best New Restaurant in the US” in 2012, as chef de cuisine.
“It’s been a pleasure working in the Napa Valley, and I’m fortunate to be able to have a new opportunity in Sonoma—really the best “bookends” of California’s vibrant wine region,” said Chef Cole Dickinson. “We’ve got the best ingredients, the most amazing local purveyors and farmers, and a rich regional history of culinary achievement—plus a deep history at MacArthur Place—that I hope to embrace, and cuisine I hope to elevate to the next level.”
His professional experience also includes work with some of the world’s most highly lauded chefs and restaurants such as Heston Blumenthal’s Fat Duck in London; Laurent Gras’ 3 Michelin star l2o in Chicago and with Wolfgang Puck in Hollywood. Dickinson has competed in and won Food Network's ‘Chopped’ and has been recognized as a StarChefs 'Los Angeles Rising Star Chef,’ an Eater 'Young Guns' winner, and has also been named one of Zagat’s '30 Under 30.’
Layla—named for the great granddaughter of property founder David Burris—will feature a Mediterranean inspired menu. The Bar at MacArthur will offer craft cocktails and a menu of all-day bites featuring ingredients from the property’s grounds. MacArthur Place’s new food and beverage concepts, including Layla, The Bar at MacArthur, and the Porch, an all-day stock-house featuring handcrafted and local products, are set to open to the public in January 2019.
